But Not Forgotten
by Sparanda
Summary: Continuation of my one shot "Theory of a Heart": Roxas keeps seeing this girl out of the corner of his eye, but he can't figure out who she is. With only 6 days left in his summer vacation, can Roxas figure out the mystery? AU Indefinite Hiatus
1. The Last Day:  The Last Heart

Greetings, fellow _Kingdom Hearts_ fans. This will be my second venture into the KH territory. In reality, this will be a revision and a continuation of my "Theory of a Heart" story. I say revision because I plan on changing a few things and then continuing it from there. I hope we all enjoy the ride, me included.

Dislcaimer: I don't own any rights to the _Kingdom Hearts_ series or any characters within.

* * *

I suppose I should be unconscious right now, what with Riku and that creepy bandage guy looming over my unmoving body. I'm out like a light, but somehow still able to hear and think. Right about now, I wish I wasn't able to.

"DiƵ…" Riku begins. Who was DiƵ? The bandage guy? "He could feel Sora."

Sora. That was a name I recognized all too easily. He was the bane of my existence… and the reason I do exist.

Yes, I realize I'm technically and a Nobody and therefore I don't really exist… but then…

"Oh, he told you how he 'felt,' did he?" DiƵ says. He has a rather deep, overpowering voice. He also sounds like a stuck-up snob… kinda like Saïx. "Ridiculous." Yeah, exactly like Saïx. "A Nobody cannot feel anything." Then why do I…? "If he had met Sora, things might have been different."

If I had met Sora…

Wait.

If I'm Sora's Nobody, which is probably true at this point, then why does Sora still exist? The Organization told me Nobodies come from people who have lost their heart. If…. Sorry, this is way too complicated for me.

Wait, who's talking to me? It sounds like… _her_. I can't remember her name, but I know it's her.

"Roxas, don't be sad," the female voice says. I'm not sad. "I came from you and Sora. I am you… the same way that I am Sora. You'll forget me, but the memories themselves will never go away. Memories of you and me will always be together... forever, inside him."

I don't want to forget you….

Riku's picking up my body now. Why hasn't he changed back to his earlier form? Is he stuck that way? Or does he think I might still attack him? As if I could.

Great, now I'm starting to sound like Xigbar. Just my luck.

And there's Luxord.

It seems like I'm acting like the people I've been spending time around. I don't know why. Wait a minute; Riku and DiƵ are talking again. We're in some kind of lab with a fancy-looking computer.

"So this will help get Sora's memories out of him?" Riku asks as DiƵ plucks away at the keyboard.

"Yes," DiƵ answers simply. "It will prevent the Organization from finding him while Naminé takes apart his and the girl's memories and puts them back into Sora. I must admit; all these set-backs with the girl were unexpected, but now we are back on track. Riku, place him in the light."

Riku nods and makes to move me, but he stops a few inches short. "DiƵ, what's this?" he asks. He bends over me and picks something up from inside my coat. It looks like… "A diary?" Riku asked.

DiƵ turns towards us. His face (as far as I could tell) looks puzzled. "That's impossible," he says almost immediately. "It must be… but it can't."

Riku opens the diary and reads the first entry aloud:

"'_Who am I? Why am I? All of these people say I'm part of this Organization, but I don't understand what our Organization is about. They said something about hearts, I think. But I… I just don't understand what that means. What is a heart? Why do we need them?_  
_- ?'"_

"Just a question mark for the signature" Riku explains. "You don't think-"

"I think that's exactly right," DiƵ interrupts. What? What is it? They're not being clear at all. "That diary belongs to that girl. It should have disappeared along with her, but it's still here. And in his coat of all places."

"What do you think this means?" Riku asks, still leaning over my body. "And why is it signed with question marks for the name?"

"I think," DiƵ begins, "that because she was absorbed into Roxas, her reality became his. This diary belongs to her… and now it is his." DiƵ cast a strange look at my body. "I think she originally signed her name there, but the boy can't remember her name."

There was a pause. Who do they keep talking about? Is it _her_? I remember her, everything except her name and face.

"I think Roxas does not _want_ to remember her name," DiƵ finally says. Huh? "It would cause too much pain to remember such a thing, so he replaced the name with the question marks to prevent himself from finding the name."

"But how?" Riku asks. "You said yourself he couldn't feel anything. How would he feel pain?"  
DiƵ sighs dramatically. "I fear I have greatly underestimated this Nobody. His and Kairi's are very unique cases. Their Nobodies are here, Roxas and Naminé, and yet Sora and Kairi are still alive. I think because of that, both Sora and Roxas…"

"They… He has…"

"Yes," DiƵ replies. "And her, too, because Roxas does."

I really wish they would finish their sentences. I really don't understand any of this with them being so insufferably vague about it.

"Do you think he even knew the diary was there?" Riku asks. I never knew.

"No, I do not believe so," DiƵ replies.

"There's something else here," Riku says, flipping to another page. "I think you should hear it." DiƵ motions for him to read, even though he had mentioned earlier about staying on schedule.

"'_Day 352: Riku gave me this time. Axel told me to spend it thinking for myself. The Organization is determined to erase either me or Roxas. They'll never allow us to coexist. I love Roxas and Axel. I'm sure Saïx would scoff at that. Call it a trick of my artificial memories. But the time I spent on that clock tower was real. I wish the three of us could stay together, just like this, forever. But I have to end this. I'll never forget today's sunset. Even if Roxas and Axel do, I won't forget._  
_- ?'"_

"She _'loved'_ them, did she?" DiƵ asks haughtily. I want to strangle him right here. "If she loved them so much, why did attack them? Why did she disappear? She had to. She was less than a Nobody: a puppet. Enough of this, Riku. Put him in."

Even though Riku is situating my body into the machine, I take no notice. I understand what they were talking about before. That girl… she had a heart. I had- I have a heart, because of Sora. She loved me and Axel. She loved me.

There is a sudden loud noise as the computer starts whirring. Something is about to happen; something big.

I suppose I really shouldn't be able to think right now, unconscious and all. But then…

I really shouldn't have been able to love either.

* * *

"Another dream about him," I mutter as I woke up. Whenever I sleep, I pretty much always have dreams. Most of the time, they're about this guy. His name is Sora. I can't remember much else, but I know I always dream about Sora.

But there are other dreams, too. About a girl about my height with black hair. I don't dream about her often; almost never, actually. It's only been a few times, but those few times, I woke up with tears running down my face. That's made me remember the few times I have seen her in my dreams.

A bell rings off in the distance and I open the window right next to my bed and look out. The always-setting sun is somehow bright and dull at the same time. That's why it's called Twilight Town, I suppose. Oh well, time to get dressed. I gotta meet the gang at the Usual Spot.

"Maybe," I say out loud as I run up from the sandlot, "today we'll finally hit the beach!"

I don't really think we will. We never do. We haven't been there at all this summer, and it's almost over.

Only seven days to go, and then my summer vacation's over.

Right, Xion?

* * *

A/N: This came out a lot different than I had it planned, but I like it. I haven't ever written anything this serious. It feels weird to me, but that's probably because I usually write comedy. I tried to add a bit in here towards the beginning.

The first "diary entry" isn't in the game. I wrote it based on what Xion was probably feeling on the first day she had enough coherent thought to be able to write. The second entry comes from one of the "Secret Reports" in the game. Specifically, day 352. Big thanks to "Red Phoenixx" from GameFAQs for the Secret Report transcript. Also a big thanks to DJ Firewolf from GameFAQs for the full game transcript. It really helped.

Like I said, this was meant to _almost_ fit perfectly into the canon of the actual game. As you can tell, not much would be different. Honestly, all of this could really have happened and nothing would be different. I'd like to think Roxas and Xion actually shared some real feelings because of what I explained… which isn't canon, but still…

A/N: The above A/N was originally on my "Theory of a Heart" story. I'm adding this to explain some more about this particular story.

Also, I would again like to thank DJ Firewolf for his/her game script of _Kingdom Hearts II_ and _Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days_. They will be much help in writing this story.


	2. The First Day: Key of Mysteries

Hey... So...

It's been for-freakin'-ever since I wrote for this story. Sorry about that. I had to get my computer fixed; it had a bad hard drive. But all is now well and I'm back to writing now. I'm planning to finish up this story and then work on my other two over the summer. I want to get this one out of the way because it'll be pretty short whereas the other two are either already fairly long or will be eventually.

Good idea: reread the first chapter again if you feel confused when reading this.

So now! Wait...what?

Oh right, now on to the teh chaptahz!

Disclaimerdoodle: I plead the Fifth (and own nothing).

* * *

Wait, what did I just say? "Shee-ooooh-...?" I can't even remember what I said now. It was right there and now it's entirely gone. That's...strange, even for Twilight Town.

The forgotten name still plagues me as I walk into the Usual Spot. I honestly have no idea why we always meet up here instead of meeting at someone's house; maybe it's just to get away from our parents.

"Man, doesn't that tick you off?" Hayner calls loudly.

Broken from my internal dilemma, I look up. I have no idea what they're talking about, but I don't want to trouble them with something that I can't even begin to explain. I nod my head and Hayner jumps up from his seat.

"I mean, it's true that stuff's been stolen around town," he begins, "and we have a score to settle with Seifer and everything..."

I don't feel like repeating everything he said; it's mostly pointless anger anyway. Basically a bunch of stuff around got stolen and our group's "sworn enemy" is telling everyone we did it. I'm not sure why Seifer would do that other than spite.

Olette is looking at me; she must expect me to say something here since I'm pretty much "second-in-command" behind Hayner.

"Well," I begin lamely, "we could find the real thieves. That would set the record straight."

"Hey, that sounds fun!" Pence agrees.

"What about Seifer?" Olette asks aloud ad I stand up.

"First," I say, "we gotta clear our names. Once we find the real thief, everyone will get off our backs about it."

"Oh no!" Pence cries suddenly. He's holding a camera; is something wrong with it? "They're gone!" Now Hayner and Olette look over as well. "Our - are gone!"

Now that's strange. I saw Pence's mouth move, but I only heard three words there.

"What?" he mumbles.

"All our -, gone?" Hayner exclaims. Alright, this is weird. Same thing happened to Hayner.

"Huh?" Olette looks puzzled. "You can't say -? Why not?"

Photos.

"But you understand what I'm saying right?" Pence asks. "Our - are gone!"

"Stolen," I mutter. "And not just the -. They took the word -, too!"

No way Seifer could have done this, and it seems Hayner agrees with me. Time to check around town. The others leave ahead of me. I'm just about to follow when-

Blackness. I can't see anything except blackness. It's not really emptiness. More like...darkness.

"His heart is returning," I hear a deep, commanding voice say. "Doubtless he'll awaken very soon."

My eyes shoot open to find the ceiling of the Usual Spot. Apparently I passed out. That was amazingly weird. Forgetting a name I had just spoken and being unable to say the word photos doesn't really compare to a random blackout and hearing strangely familiar voices.

I see Olette coming back in to see why I'm still here, but I wave her off and leave. We head to the Armor Shop first; the storekeeper doesn't seem happy to see me. He brushes me off and tells me to head to the Accessory Shop.

The lady who runs the Accessory Shop seems to be acting the same way. At least she believes us apparently.

"It's no fun having everyone suspecting me, ya know," I confess.

"Then you've got to find a way to clear your name," she replies. "The woman at the candy shop is pretty disappointed, too."

So we move on to the candy shop. Apparently the elderly woman lost her cat. I look up to see the missing feline on top of the awning hanging over the shop's window. After getting the cat down, the woman thanks me. She's had something important stolen as well, and she believes that we didn't do it.

She can't say "photo" either. What is going on?

"I wonder if Seifer would know anything about this," Olette suggests.

"We gotta talk to him," I say. "C'mon, to the sandlot!"

The sandlot is the area of Twilight Town that connects Market Street, the Tram Common, and the alleyway where out Usual Spot is. They hold the "Struggle" tournament there every year. Hayner and I are planning on entering this year; they hold it a few days before the end of summer vacation, and seeing the look on Seifer's face when either me or Hayner wins will be a great way to end vacation.

As we make it to the sandlot, Fuu is the first one to notice us. She's usually pretty quiet. I've never heard her say more then three words at a time.

"Thieves!" she calls, pointing an accusing finger at us.

"That was low, y'know!" Rai shouts. Dear lord, I think it's physically impossible for him to finish a sentence without saying "y'know!"

Hayner and Seifer exchange insults for a few seconds. More like Seifer makes fun of Hayner's weak comeback, but whatever.

"You can give us back the - now," Seifer drawls in that conceited voice of his. I ignore Rai's outburst. "That was undeniable proof that we totally owned you lamers." Oh my lord, could you be _more_ of a poser, please? "So what did you do? Burn it? Ha, not that we need some - to prove that you're losers."

"Replay!" Fuu suggests suddenly. Seifer laughs.

"Now you're talking!"

Seifer, Fuu, Rai, and the fourth member of their group, Vivi, get ready for a fight. Vivi is amazingly quiet; I'm not sure why he hangs out with Seifer's gang. Hayner moves his body into a defensive position; he's ready to fight, too.

"I guess if you get down on your knees and beg, maybe I'll let it slide," Seifer says with that awful smirk.

I walk forward slowly, making Seifer's groups chuckle. Hayner calls my name as I kneel down.

In a flash of movement, I see a figure move to my right. I can't tell if the person is male or female; they're wearing a full black cloak with a hood covering their face. The figure is gone almost as soon as I notice it.

Another heartbeat later, I pick up the Struggle sword at my feet and launch myself at Seifer. He barely blocks my initial strike, but he backpedals and motions for the others not to get involved.

"Come on," he drawls, "quit playin' around and fight."

I always hated Seifer's fighting pose. He just stands there holding his weapon out pointing at his opponent to block the initial attack. There's a huge flaw though.

Seifer's eyes bulge as I swing my weapon down to sweep his feet. He jumps to avoid my attack. The follow-through on my swipe takes my weapon behind my right shoulder. I can see Seifer bringing his weapon up to smash it into the back of my head.

I jump. My kick knocks Seifer's sword away and I launch mine into the crook of his neck.

His weapon falls to the ground and Seifer falls to one knee from the pain in his shoulder. Fuu and Rai rush to stand in front of him as a dual human shield.

"Seifer's not feelin' so hot, y'know!" Rai shouts.

"Tournament decides," Fuu announces.

When I turn back to smile at my friends, Pence is holding his camera up. He takes the picture of me standing in front of Seifer's gang.

In the blink of an eye... something... comes out of nowhere and grabs Pence's camera. It's white and... swimming through air?

"What was that?" Hayner asks.

"The thief!" Olette replies.

I run after it, sprinting through the Tram Common to the hole in the city wall that leads to the woods. When I enter through the hole, I see the...thing dancing around the trees like it's waiting for me. As soon as it sees me, it shoots off for the other end of the woods.

"Wait!" I call.

It's heading for the old abandoned mansion, but I don't know why. It's floating too far above me to attack it, so I just follow it out of the woods. When I come to the clearing in front of the mansion gates, I see the thing just standing there. I bring up my weapon and approach it cautiously.

**_"We have come for you, my liege."_**

Okay, now I'm hearing voices- wait, did this thing just say that? A zipper opens where its mouth should be and it makes a hissing noise at me. Throwing all caution and rational thought to the winds, I attack.

Sadly, I quickly notice that my weapon just passes harmlessly through the creature as if it weren't even there. I take a few steps back to gather myself.

"It's not working," I mumble.

A bright light appears in my hand. The light swirls around my sword, making it look like a hologram projection with the way the light is broken up. The light surrounds the blue Struggle sword and when it dissipates the sword is gone. In its place is...

A giant key.

So my weapon disappears... and I get a giant-freaking-key. This is like something out of a really bad Japanese video game.

"What is this thing?" I ask. It pulls my arm up so that the end of the key is pointing at the creature. It hisses again. Okay, let's try this key out as a weapon.

I take my stance again and attack. It works! After a few hits, the creature disappears in a small explosion of white. Some pieces of paper fall to the ground where the monster was. I realize after picking them up that they're all photos.

Looking around, I see the cloaked figure from earlier standing at the edge of the forest.

"Who are-" It disappears with no warning before I can finish asking. I frown and pick up the rest of the photos.

Upon returning to the Usual Spot, I show the photos to the gang. One of the photos is of me with the Armor Shop owner right after he opened the store; I was his first customer. Another is of me with the Accessory Shop owner; Hayner and Olette quickly point out that I look flustered standing next to the pretty girl.

"So, like, anybody else notice that all the stolen pictures are of Roxas?" Pence questions.

"Oh, so that's why everyone thought it was us," Olette realizes.

"Are they really all of me?" I ask.

"Yep," Pence replies as he holds up another photo. This one is a picture of me with the lady from the candy shop. The next one shows Seifer standing over me after defeating me in a Struggle match; Rai and Vivi are cheering for Seifer in the background. The last picture shows the four of us standing in front of the old mansion gate in the woods.

"Every single one," Pence explains. "Wouldn't it be weird if the thief wanted to steal the real Roxas or something?"

"C'mon, get serious," Hayner replies. "Why would anyone wanna steal a bonehead like Roxas?"

"Oh, thanks," I reply and everyone starts laughing. Once the laughter dies down, I think for a moment before adding, "So everyone in town really thought I was narcissistic enough to go around stealing pictures of myself?"

* * *

Everything around me is black again.

"Where... am I?" a familiar voice asks warily.

"Who's there?" I ask back.

"Who are you?"

My vision goes from blackness to a scrambled computer screen like television interference.

* * *

A/N: Second chapter finished. I apologize for the repeated scenes. I'll try not to be boring and type out every bit of every scene that we should all know. If I do type it out, it's either important, funny, or something Roxas says or does changes.

Yay fight scene? I haven't written a fight scene since my last failed attempt at a Naruto fanfiction. And that was more of a massacre than an actual fight, so I'm not even sure if that counts. But yay anyway.

Today's word is fummins. Because fummins.


	3. The Second Day: The Beach

Okay, so FFN is is the process of an epic fail right now, so I'm starting on the next chapter. Not much to say here since I haven't had a chance to even post the previous chapter by this point.

Disclaimerfail: I don't own.

* * *

So.

Another dream about Sora. This time Sora's in some strange town that looks pretty worn down; the buildings are a lot darker than in Twilight Town. He meets up with some guy with brown hair wearing a black leather jacket.

"They will come at you out of nowhere," the person tells Sora, "so long as you continue to wield the Keyblade."

Keyblade... so that's what that big key was yesterday. I wonder if that white thing had anything to do with the "Heartless" Sora is fighting.

* * *

"Good tidings friends. Today is a momentous day."

A deep, rumbling voice flows around me and a room comes into view. Everything is white, and I can tell the wall is circular. Around the room are chairs, raised high off the floor so that the occupants can't be seen from the floor. Unlike the dreams with Sora, I seem to actually have a point of view here, as if I'm seeing through someone else's eyes: I'm sitting on one of the super-high chairs and I can tell that I'm wearing a black coat with the hood pulled down.

"I am pleased to announce," the deep voice continues, "that a new comrade has been chosen to wear the coat." Sure enough, a new person walks in and stands in the middle of the room. I can't tell the gender, but the person is small, shorter than me, wearing a black cloak like the rest of us, though I'm not sure who the "rest" of us is.

"Number Fourteen." I can finally pinpoint where the voice is coming from. In the highest chair sits an overwhelming figure, and even through his hood I can see piercing orange eyes glaring down at all of us. "Let us all welcome one of the Keyblade's chosen."

Sunlight pours through the window in my bedroom as I wake up. It's blinding as usual. I wonder if other worlds have the same sun as ours. Whatever. Time to go meet the gang at the Usual Spot.

"A Keyblade..." I mutter aloud as I head into the back alley from the sandlot. I notice a twig on the ground and pick it up. In what I can only describe as a fit of insanity, I swing the twig a few times like I had seen Sora do in my dreams with the Keyblade.

"What was that about?" I toss the stick over my shoulder only to hear a soft "flup" noise as it hits something. When I turn around, I see two people standing in the shadow of the building next to the sandlot stairs. Both of them are wearing long black cloaks like that figure I saw yesterday. One is taller than the other; the stick apparently hit the taller one.

"Sorry..." I begin as the taller person walks away down the stairs. When I turn back to look at the shorter figure, I see it's already at the other end of the alley heading towards Market Street. I kind of want to follow it, but I know I'm supposed to be meeting the gang.

The others are already eating some sea-salt ice cream, and Hayner offers me one as I sit down on the sofa.

"Man, today's turning out to be a drag," Hayner announces.

"Maybe because of yesterday's memory thief," Olette suggests.

"Nuh-uh," Hayner responds. "You know what it is? We don't want summer vacation to be over. That's all! So, how about this?" Hayner pushes himself up from his seat. "We all go to the beach!"

"Maybe you forgot, but we're broke," I explain.

"Maybe you forgot I'm smart!" he retorts. Hayner runs out into the alleyway and we all follow him. When I finally catch up to him, Hayner is standing just outside the alleyway looking at a poster advertisement for the Struggle tournament.

"Just two days to go," he says, referring to the tournament. "You and I have to make the finals! That way, no matter who wins, the four of us split the prize!"

"Okay, you're on!" I agree with a broad smile.

"It's a promise!"

Down to business then. Each ticket to the beach is nine hundred munny. 3600 for the four of us to go. And Hayner wants to add 300 per person for us all to get pretzels.

"A total of 4800 munny," Olette says.

Pence has 800 munny already; Olette has 650. "150. Sorry." I add mine into the pool.

"That's 1600 munny," Hayner says. "We need another 3200. Let's find outselves some off jobs and earn some dough! We have 'til the train leaves to earn 800 munny each!"

Ugh. It was his idea to go to the beach. Why do we have to get jobs? Whatever. Let's see what odd jobs need doing. Letter carrier sounds easy. Trash disposal looks okay, too, but I really don't want to push that huge cart up the hill. Alright, let's get to work!

_Twenty minutes later..._

OH MY LORD HOW MANY LETTERS DO THEY NEED TO SEND?

That lady has had me on carrier duty for the past twenty minutes; I swear I've delivered mail to three-quarters of Twilight Town by now. Wait, who was th-

_CRASH!_

OWWWWWWWWW. Okay, faceplanting is not recommended when falling off a skateboard. That's why I always wear a helmet when I ride. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I saw something back there.

I pick my board up and walk back to an alleyway opening in the Tram Common. I was right, there's someone back there. Looks like one of those figures in the black cloaks again. Before I can even say anything, the figure moves off down another alley. Once again, I'd like to chase after it, but I'm on the clock for this letter carrier job. I actually only have a few more to deliver and then I need to head back to the lady at the top of Market Street.

Once my job is done and I get my pay (800 munny on the dot, how about that) I head up to Central Station to meet up with the gang.

"Nice work everyone," Olette says after totaling up our earnings. "Add to what we started with, we now have..." She pulls out an orange hand-made munny pouch. "...5000 munny!" Olette hands the bag to me as we head up to the station to get tickets.

"We can't be together forever," Hayner says after Pence and Olette make it to the doorway ahead of us. "So we'd better make the time we do have something to remember."

"Huh?" Since when is Hayner this emotional about everything?

"Gotcha!" he punches my shoulder lightly as he runs off, smiling the whole way. I laugh and starting running for the door as well. My foot slips and I fall to the ground again.

After I pick myself up and make sure I'm not bleeding anywhere, someone grabs my arm. It's the tall cloaked figure from before!

"-?" I know he said something, but I couldn't hear it.

"What?" I reply.

"Roxas!" Hayner calls. "Three minutes!"

"Okay!"

When I look back, the person is gone. Weird. Doesn't matter, gotta get those tickets! Hayner walks up to the teller window once we get inside. "Four students," he says through the window.

"Roxas, the money!" Olette reminds me.

"Wait-" I'm checking every pocket I have, but I seem to have like fifteen different pockets. Problem is I can't find the munny pouch anywhere. "No!"

"Huh?"

I turn back and look out to the station plaza. "He took it!" I nearly shout. I begin to run outside, but Olette calls to me.

"Where are you going?" she asks.

"Remember when I fell?" I ask from the doorway. "I had the money before that. I bet that guy took it!"

"Guy?" Hayner replies.

"He couldn't have gotten... too far..." My sentence trails off.

"What are you talking about?" Hayner asks. "You picked yourself up and kept walking. There was no guy."

"There wasn't..." I mutter. "Really?"

The train whistle issues from the platform above us, signaling the train's departure.

"There wasn't anyone...there?" I ask again. I look at the others; I'm expecting them to be angry, but they just look confused and disappointed. I would almost rather they be mad at me.

* * *

"It's melting," Olette says.

I look down at the ice cream bar in my hand; sure enough, it's melting. Normally I would laugh at the thought of the droplets hitting someone way down below the station tower, but I'm not in the mood. "Sorry," I mumble lamely.

"Cheer up already!" Hayner says.

"That was definitely weird, though," I reply.

"Strange," Olette adds.

"You said it," Hayner agrees.

Looking back on the scene now, I somehow know what the cloaked person said to me.

"Can you feel Sora?" I mumble to myself, looking down at the ice cream again.

Next thing I know, I can't feel anything and my vision is gone. Just a static interference like yesterday. I hear a deep, familiar voice.

"Naminé, hurry."

* * *

A/N: So the chapter is done and Fanfiction dot net still isn't working. Well, it's working. I just can't upload the chapters. I may get Chapter 4 done before it lets me upload!

Update 4/19/2011: I added an extra scene depicting events from 358/2 Days, to show dreams of Xion like I mentioned in the first chapter. Can't believe I forgot that.


	4. The Third Day: Someone From the Dark

Next chapter incoming. I'm happy right now 'cause I got some video games I used to play again (Tiger Woods 04 and Soul Calibur III). I remember how much I loved those games now. But I'm taking time away from that to write! And all for you, my loyal reader(s).

Disclaimer: Yo dawg! I heard you like disclaimers so I put this disclaimer in a disclaimer so I can not own it while I don't own it.

* * *

I'm dreaming about Sora again. This time, he's traveling through a bunch of different worlds, fighting these "Heartless" creatures.

The first thing I see is a rather overwhelming figure, holding a golden trident, glaring at Sora and his friends and berating them for meddling in his world. All of this happens underwater; I can tell because Sora and the one holding the trident have mermaid fins, Donald is half-octopus, and Goofy has a tortoise's shell for his body.

Next is a coliseum; looks like they're in ancient Greece. Heh, they only managed to become "junior heroes." The images shuffle through from an Arabian desert where a boy sets free a genie to a nightmarish town where a skeleton-man is talking to a girl who looks to have been made like Frankenstein's monster.

After passing through a few more scenes, I can see Sora talking to his friend, Riku. I can really tell where they are, but there's a little boy with them; he looks like a moving puppet.

"Riku!" Sora calls out to his friend. "What are you doing here?" I see an image of a girl with dark red hair. "Did you find her?"

Now I see Sora standing on the deck of a pirate ship. Donald and Goofy are there, along with a boy floating in midair, a girl in a nightgown, and a small pixie. The girl's face flashes again.

The scene changes back to the coliseum; an imposing figure with a long, tattered cape walks past Sora. "I'm searching, too," I hear Sora say.

"For your light?" I can tell the voice came from this imposing person. "Don't lose sight of it."

Light...

"Where are Donald and Goofy?"

I can see Riku glaring at his former friend. "Instead of worrying about them," he begins, moving aside to reveal a person sitting on the floor behind him, "you should be asking about her." On the word "her," the girl's face flashes in my vision again.

I don't know the girl's name, but she seems so familiar too me. She doesn't appear in these visions long enough for me to get a really good look at her, though.

* * *

I recognize this person. Short, wearing the long black cloak with the hood pulled over her head. Something tells me its a girl.

"R...Roxas."

I can hear her voice. We're standing in the Station Heights of Twilight Town for some reason. I can tell that I'm in the same point of view as yesterday, but why does this girl know my name?

"Huh?"

What? That's my voice.

"What did you say?" My voice again.

"Your name," the girl begins, "it's... Roxas, isn't it?"

"Yeah, -. That's right." My voice, but it seemed like there was a missing word there. It must have been the girl's name. I couldn't hear myself speak it, though, like the photo thief from the other day.

The scene changed without my noticing. I'm by myself, sitting on top of the Station Tower, but I'm wearing the black cloak and eating sea-salt ice cream. I hear words in my head in my own voice, but they don't sound like speaking... more like a thought.

_"My name... Was that the first thing -'s ever said?"_

* * *

I don't recognize this place. I don't think this has anything to do with Sora or the girl in the black cloak. The entire room where I am is white, but empty. Looking ahead, I see a girl standing in front of a large pod; my first thought is "containment pod," but I think Pence has been making me watch too many sci-fi movies.

I... don't recognize the girl. She's blonde, with hair flowing past her shoulders. She's wearing a simple white dress that stops just above her knees. My vision rockets forward like an player camera for a video game. In the blur of motion, I can see a cloaked figure leaning against the pod out of the girl in white's view.

Now everything is black. All I can see is darkness. The girl in the white dress is standing in front of me, facing away. Not knowing if my voice will work here, I test it out.

"Who are you?"

The girl turns around gracefully; she's very pretty. She offers me a small smile and my consciousness returns to my real body.

* * *

I wake up in my bedroom. Something white catches my eye and I turn quickly, but there's nothing there. Or what was there left.

When I make it to the Usual Spot, no one is there. I spot a letter on the couch and pick it up to read.

_"Meet at the Station. Today's the day we hit the beach- and don't sweat about the money!"_ - Hayner

I have to read the note again before I can believe it. Where on earth did Hayner get that kind of money from? Whatever, I suppose I'll head to the station then.

As I step out into Market Street, I see Olette and Pence walking up the hill towards me. "Hey," I greet them. Pence waves and Olette wishes me a good morning.

And then they freeze mid-step.

"What?" Worried, I run towards them, but I have to step short when the girl in the white dress appears in front of me.

"Hello, Roxas," she says calmly.

"Uh... Hi," I mutter. "Who are you?" She holds up a hand to quiet me.

"I wanted to meet you at least once," she says.

"Me?" I ask. I can feel my face heating up.

"Yes, you." Without any kind of explanation, the girl walks away down the hill towards the Tram Common. Olette and Pence unfreeze and continue walking as if nothing happened.

"Olette dragged me along to go shopping," Pence grumbles.

Even with my mind occupied by the girl in white, I can see numerous questions about this statement. For starters, why is Pence complaining? He gets to hang out with a beautiful girl for no reason. Also, Pence loves shopping, especially for electronics. And finally, why did neither of them say anything about me having ran forward three steps while they were frozen?

"Hey, you wanna come with us?" Olette asks.

Okay, wait. We're going to the beach today. Girl + shopping + beach = swimsuit shoppi... WHY IS PENCE COMPLAINING?

As much as I'd love to go with Olette while she's swimsuit shopping, I'm more curious about who that girl is. There will be other days at the beach.

"Uhh, wait," I stutter, "did you just see that...?"

"He's stalling," Pence observes.

"Very well, then," Olette accepts. "We'll see you later, Roxas, okay?"

"Yeah," I reply. Looking towards the archway entrance to the Tram Common, I start thinking about the girl in the white dress again. An image of the old mansion in the woods flashes through my mind. That must be wear she went!

When I enter the Tram Common, I can see the girl standing in the archway next to the ramp leading to the sandlot. I can't see her anymore when I get to the archway, but I continue through the wall into the woods anyway.

To my surprise, the woods are full of those creatures in white that stole the photos. One of them tries to grab me, pulling me towards the swirling pool of energy that it's body is sticking out of. Just as I'm about to fall through the vortex, the grip on my arm disappears, followed by sounds of the other creatures being vanquished. The vortex disappears and I look around to see a cloaked figure. It's the same figure that I kept seeing yesterday, the shorter one, and it's the same one I saw in my dream this morning in the huge white room with the girl in white.

"Who are you," I ask warily, "and what do you want?"

The figure doesn't answer, but I can see the ghost of a smile from under the hood or its cloak. It holds out a hand and light begins to form within it. As the light begins to extend forward and take shape, I gasp audibly.

"Keyblade?" I wonder in awe.

The cloaked figure takes a fighting pose with it's Keyblade (it looks just like Sora's...and the one I used against the white creatures the other day!). I back away slowly. As the figure launches an attack at me, I scurry back through the wall into the Tram Common.

Why is it chasing me? I don't even know who it is!

I rush down the ramp into the sandlot. I run past Seifer and his gang without a glance.

"Hey, chicken wuss!"

Okay, what the hell?

"Says the guy who got his ass handed to him two days ago," I murmur. Looking back, I see the figure approaching the sandlot slowly.

"Who's that?" Fuu asks. She and Rai enter fighting positions and Vivi scurries away.

"I don't know," Seifer grunts, "but they've already crossed the line." He turns to me just slightly. "Find a weapon!"

"But..." I know that Struggle weapons won't have any effect against the Keyblade, but I look around anyway. I spare a glance up to see Seifer, Fuu, and Rai sprawled on the ground several yards away from where each of them had been standing. They aren't getting up, but it looks like they were in the middle of trying. It seems like they're... frozen!

The figure is slowly making it way towards me. I glance back at the Struggle weapon to my left. I should have just enough time to grab it before it reaches me.

"Roxas, use the Keyblade!" I hear a voice shout. I spare a glance up at the balcony above and behind the approaching cloaked figure. It's the girl in the white dress! But... how can I use the Keyblade when this person is using it?

We move at the same time. I barely manage to grasp the blue weapon and move it in front of me as the Keyblade races at my face. White light fills my vision as the two weapons connect and my consciousness leaves my body.

* * *

These past few days seem to be fairly common for me not knowing where the heck I am.

The sky and everything around me is dark except for the platform that I'm standing on. It's glowing from the inside; the light is coming through the top of the platform, what would be the floor from my perspective. I can tell the floor has some kind of pattern, but I can't tell what it's supposed to be from here.

I suck in a gasp of air as I notice the white creatures surrounding the platform. I have nothing to defend myself with here, not that anything would be of help against them. After standing still for several seconds, I notice that the creatures aren't attacking. They're not frozen; I can see them moving in place, but it's like they don't see me at all.

I hear a sound to my left and look to see three weapons appear in midair in front of me. A sword appears nearest me; it's pretty normal for a sword, except for the strange crest on it's hilt: three circles, two smaller and raised up to look almost like a mouse's head. On the left is a staff with the same three-circle emblem atop it; it looks like something from a kid's cartoon, like a magic staff. On the right is a shield with the same emblem on the front.

Something tells me I'm supposed to choose one of these three weapons. But something else tells me that the creatures will attack as soon as I do. I can't see any other way out of here, so I might as well pick one and fight.

I doubt any type of sword would affect these creatures, and I'm not entirely sure how a large shield would be good for offensive combat. The "magic" staff looks like my best bet. I walk over to grab the staff, but as my hand grips the weapon, it disappears in a flash of light, only to be replaced by the Keyblade!

Just like I thought, as soon as the Keyblade appeared in my hand, the white creatures moved onto the platform. I dodge the first, but feel a second attack my left arm. With a precision strike, the Keyblade eliminates the offending creature and only two more remain. Both of them attack me at once, but something clicks in my brain, and I somehow move rapidly behind the creatures, leaving them stunned. Two more swings of the Keyblade dispatch the two monsters.

Expecting more of the creatures too appear, I look around. All I see is a pink door at the other end of the platform.

"Be careful."

Wha...

"Beyond that door lies a completely different world."

Where is that voice coming from? I walk toward the door slowly.

"But don't be afraid."

I stop to listen.

"Don't stop walking..."

I step cautiously through the doorway into another "room." That seems like the best way to explain. I step out onto a smaller version of the platform I just left; I can see the pattern now. It's Sora, surrounded by his friends. Ignoring this, I continue onward. More of the white creatures appear on the pathway leading upward, but are defeated quickly by my Keyblade. At the top of the pathway is another large platform with the same pattern in green instead of blue. At the opposite end of the platform is the same pink door. Three more of the white creatures appear and are defeated in front of the doorway.

After stepping through the door, I find another of the large blue platforms with the Sora pattern on it. There's nothing here, though. No pathway, no enemies, no...

I turn around quickly. The cloaked person from before is standing there, holding the Keyblade. The same Keyblade springs to life in my hand as well. The figure does not seem to be shocked, but it assumes a fighting position. I lower myself into my normal fighting stance as well; I can tell this will be intense.

We rush at each other.

Our Keyblade's clash for less than a second then the other Keyblade is lashing out against mine. I can barely hold up my defense. I was right: this is totally different than fighting those creatures. I duck underneath a high strike to my head and roll to the side. I have no time to rest as the mysterious person chases after me relentlessly. I keep dodging and blocking, but I have no time to counterattack.

Finally, I'm able to block and hold the other Keyblade in place for a moment.

"Who are you?" I growl.

"Someone from the dark." A girl's voice.

The cloaked girl pushes me back to the edge of the platform. I can see the immense nothingness beneath the platform... and it scares me. I close my eyes and try to keep from falling over the edge as her Keyblade pushes against mine.

I'm scared.

My foot begins to edge over the platform.

I'm scared...

My feet fall over the platform. As I fall, I can see the attacker's face beneath the hood. I can tell it's a girl's face, plain but beautiful with deep blue eyes. And she looks familiar, like an old friend.

I'm still falling. I pass the bottom of the platform; I can't see the top anymore. I can barely turn my head to look beneath me.

I'm scared of nothing.

When I look back up, I can see the pattern covering the bottom. I see myself and the girl in white.

Blinding light blocks my vision and I feel a soft hand grab my right arm.

I can tell I'm not falling anymore. I must have closed my eyes at some point. I'm in an entirely different place when my eyes open again. It's a very strange room. Everything if colored off-white. In the background of the room, I can see pillars with three prongs at the top, almost like a crown.

The girl in white is sitting above me on a raised platform. I open my mouth to ask where we are, but she holds a finger to her lips to quiet me.

"My name is Naminé," she explains. "Roxas... do you remember your true name?"

My... what?

Before I can answer, a cloaked figure appears. It's the taller person from yesterday, not the one I just fought. He roughly grabs Naminé's shoulder and pulls her up to her feet.

"Say no more Naminé," he orders.

"But if no one tells him, Roxas will-"

"It's best he doesn't know the truth," the cloaked man interrupts.

Wait a second.

"You stole the munny pouch!" I shout. Only after shouting did I realize that was an amazingly horrible thing to say at that moment. The cloaked man holds out his hand and creates a swirling mass of darkness behind me. Surprised, I jump and look at the vortex. Before I know what's happening, I'm being shoved into the vortex, and my consciousness is lost again.

* * *

"Seifer, strike a pose, y'know!"

Dear lord, now I'm dreaming about that idiot?

Wait, I'm not dreaming anymore. Realizing that I'm on the ground, I pull myself to my feet and look around. Seifer is striking a pose while Rai and Fuu take a picture.

"What's that for?" I ask.

"Keepsake," Fuu replies.

"Those freaks in the white jumpsuits are gone, y'know?" Rai explains.

"Cakewalk," Fuu adds.

"White jumpsuits..." I mutter. "Oh, those guys!" I had honestly forgotten about the white creatures. I was kind of preoccupied with Naminé and the guy and girl in black cloaks.

I hear a disappointed grunt and look to see Hayner, Pence, and Olette standing in the alleyway leading up to our Usual Spot. Hayner frowns at me and turns to run up the steps. Pence and Olette follow after a hesitant look back at me. I run towards the alley to follow, ignoring Seifer's warning about the tournament tomorrow.

My three friends greet me with saddened and, in Hayner's case, angry looks. "So..." Pence begins, "you hung out with Seifer's gang today?"

"What?" I ask, surprised. "No, it's not like that. I was..." I can't mention anything about the white creatures or Naminé or the people in cloaks. They thought I was crazy after yesterday's pickpocket episode. I need to change the subject. "Oh yeah! How was the beach? Wasn't that today?"

Hayner looks even more upset, if that were possible. "We didn't go," Olette answers dejectedly. "It wouldn't have been the same without you, right?"

"Sorry," I reply. "Hey... how about we go tomorrow? We could buy those preztels and-"

"I promised I'd be somewhere."

Hayner's words are cold, and they cut through my heart.

_"You and I have to make the finals! That way, no matter who wins, the four of us plit the prize!"_

_"Okay, you're on."_

_"It's a promise!"_

How could I forget that?

Hayner is glaring at me. "I'm outta here," he huffs and walks out. I can't even bare to look at Olette or Pence.

My world falls to a scrambled static interference.

* * *

A/N: Chapter done! Yeah, sorry for the meme in the disclaimer. I hate boring disclaimers. And that meme fits Roxas perfectly. He's like the movie Inception: a dream within a dream. Anyway, I hope this chapter was a lot better than the previous. I know I enjoyed writing it more.

Update 4/19/2011: Added a scene for Roxas's dream from 358/2 Days.


	5. The Fourth Day: Got it memorized?

I'm terribly sorry for the long delay between chapters. University classes got real crazy at the end of the semester and then I'm starting a commentary group of YouTube, so my time has been taken up by that. I'll be spending a lot of time on this story for next few weeks though, so expect at least 1 update after this one.

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Kingdom Hearts

* * *

This is just like yesterday. In Twilight Town again, in my own point of view, with the girl in the black cloak.

"Roxas," the girl mutters. I turn around, not of my own volition, to look at her.

What I see frightens me to no end. Not the me in the point of view; the "real" me.

I see the girl that I fought yesterday in that dream world. The girl in the black cloak that used the Keyblade against me is this girl, but why does it seem like she's so friendly now?

"Good luck today," she says. Her hair is jet black with hints of dark blue colored in that almost look natural. Her face is kind of plain but very pretty. She's a few inches shorter than me, though it's difficult to tell even from my own point of view. What strikes me most is her eyes; just like what I saw yesterday, her eyes are a deep, piercing blue. They remind me of my own eyes... and of Sora's eyes, too.

"Th-thanks," the words come from my voice. "You, too, -."

Once again, the name is missing. Who is this girl? And why am I dreaming about her?

* * *

It's another dream about Sora. I think I'm beginning to understand these dreams. Sora must have gone on some kind of quest. It seems like this girl, Kai- must have been captured by the "Heartless". I don't know the girl's full name, every time she's appeared in my dreams it seems like her name is cut short for some reason. Anyway, these dreams must be something like Sora's memories, everything he remembers about his quest.

I can see Sora battling Riku; Riku seems familiar to me... And not just because of seeing him in these dreams, either. I feel like I've met him in person before. But how can that be possible?

"It is I, Ansem," Riku's voice has changed. It has an... evil echo. That's the only way I can possibly describe it. "Lead me into everlasting darkness!" Riku begins to bring his weapon down towards Sora's kneeling form.

"Sora!"

I can see a flash of the girl's face. Riku's black Keyblade is blocked by Sora's. "Forget it!" Sora pushes Riku away and prepares to fight. "There's no way you're taking Kairi's heart!"

Kairi.

That's her name. It's the first time I've been able to hear it.

A few scenes later, I see Kairi and Sora standing together in what looks like an underground cavern. Kairi hands something to Sora with a smile. "Take this," she says. "It's my lucky charm, be sure to bring it back to me."

Sora clasps the charm closely. "Don't worry. I will," he assures her.

"Promise?" Kairi asks.

The scene cuts to Sora sealing a Keyhole inside of a dark space. I can hear Kairi's voice through the darkness.

"Don't ever forget. Wherever you go, I'm always with you."

* * *

I sit up in my bed and look out my window in the Twilight Town sunrise. I can hear a lot of voices in the town, even from my second story window; the Struggle tournament finals are today.

"Right," I mutter. "Promise..." My hand moves to imitate a few strikes with a Struggle weapon. "What a mess."

After hurriedly getting dressed I run towards the sandlot. The store clerk at the armor shop tells me to hurry as I pass him by.

Apparently, I made it on time. Nothing has started yet. Good. I take a look around the crowd; I can see Olette and Pence standing together in the crowd, but Hayner is one of the contestants like me, so he has to stand near the front of the sandlot away from the crowd.

I head over to the contestants' area, trying to catch Hayner's eye the whole time but he completely ignores me. Seifer and Vivi are the other two contestants; I'm not really worried about fighting against Seifer since I just beat him in a fight three days ago. Vivi, on the other hand, I've never seen in a fight; no telling how that will go. Of course...

I glance at Hayner again.

That depends on me getting past my first match. I haven't defeated Hayner in a lot of Struggle matches; he usually catches me by surprise with a bunch of swift attacks after playing defensively for the whole match. I think I might have the upper hand this time, though.

Finally, the mayor is standing on the platform, announcing the opening of the tournament. Next, the clerk at the armor shop introduces the four contestants for the tournament. When he calls my name, Hayner glares at me. I try to keep my eyes locked, but I look away for some reason.

Before I have time to think any more, Hayner and I are standing in the middle of the stage. The mayor hands each of us a Struggle weapon and pats each of us on the shoulder. Hayner is quick to point his weapon at me, but I just continue staring at the ground in front of me.

Finally, I look up at Hayner. "Hey," I start. "Sorry about yesterday."

Hayner smirks and lowers his weapon. "What, you still worried about that? You need to learn let that stuff go." His voice is carefree, but my reply shuts it down.

"I've got a lot on my mind."

"Sorry, man," Hayner answers back. I shake my head, but Hayner speaks again, "Wait, what am I sorry for?" Hayner smiles at me and I smile back. We both finally get into our fighting positions.

The announcer calls out our names to introduce the first battle.

"Ready, Roxas?"

Woah! Hayner runs directly at me first! I guess this is a fight he doesn't want to fight defensively at all. I block his first strike with my weapon and jump back to avoid his next swing. An opening! My attack barely grazes Hayner's shoulder as he jumps away, but he lands a clean hit against me in the process.

Official Struggle matches are judged by a point system, with each fighter starting with one hundred points. Judges give and remove points from each player depending on each attack. Landing a successful hit earns points but getting hit looses points. They also award extra points for style. Using the same maneuver repeatedly won't get a whole lot of style points from the judges.

Sparing a glance at the scoreboard, I can see Hayner has a few more points than me. I don't have time to dwell on it any further because he's back to attacking me again. This time I parry his attack, knocking his balance off and I land a few decent hits to his side and arm. Hayner smirks at me and shuffles his grip on his weapon.

Normally, the regular Struggle weapon, the one without the hand guard, has a handle that curves towards the one holding it at the bottom. When you turn the bat around so that it the handle points away from you the weapon becomes much faster to swing, but it's harder to control at times.

Hayner runs at me again. To time to block, so I just jump away, but Hayner's attack still grazes my leg. I need to end this soon; if his attacks are going to be faster than before, I need to get this over with. I grip my weapon with both hands and prepare to rush forward.

Images flash through my mind; pictures of Sora defeating enemies during his quest. In the blink of an eye, I'm in front of Hayner. My weapon weaves around his guard and I get a nice stabbing attack against his stomach. The attack knocks his breath out momentarily and I take the opportunity to land a combo.

The final attacks sprawls Hayner on the ground and his weapon flies out of his hand. Like I said, it's more difficult to handle with the grip reversed.

I look over to the scoreboard and see my points jump past Hayner's.

"And the winner is Roxas!" the announcer yells. He runs up on to the stage and holds my arm up to show off my victory. I nod to the man and he releases me with a soft smile. I run over to Hayner to see him whining.

"I lost!" he yells. "Aww, I can't believe it!" He stands up a moment later and smirks at me again. "I guess I taught you well." Well, that's entirely a lie; Hayner is the one that convinced me to take up Struggle matches in the first place.

"I had a lot of fun fighting you," I say with a smile and a nod. Hayner smiles back, but then frowns and crosses his arms.

"Yeah, well I didn't," he says with a mock-upset voice, "wise guy."

We both start walking off the stage but Hayner almost runs right into Seifer. "Out of the way," the taller boy drawls.

"You in a rush to lose?" Hayner replies.

I look down and jump when I see Vivi standing right next to me. There was seriously no one there a second ago. Vivi looks up at me and giggles with a really creepy voice. I shake my head and follow Hayner off the stage.

When I turn back to watch the match, I can easily tell that both Seifer and Vivi and trying to stare the other down. Vivi makes the fist move, flying quickly towards Seifer, but the older boy dodges away. Vivi chases him quickly, launching a few quick attacks. Seifer blocks these and parries the last attack, knocking Vivi away.

Vivi lands across the stage, and Seifer begins to rush after him to deliver the "final blow." "You're mine!" Seifer cries.

As Seifer's attack is about to hit, Vivi's body seems to move around the attack and strike Seifer. The older boy is knocked back and lands face-up. He's not moving.

"I-I'm not sure what just happened," the announcer stutters, "but... the winner is Vivi!"

Vivi walks off the stage without a word as Seifer picks himself up. Seifer looks directly at me and mouths three words.

"That's not Vivi."

What?

Seifer standing near me now. "Thrash 'im," he says bluntly before leaving the sandlot.

Looks like the fight is up. Normally they would have a fight between Hayner and Seifer to determine third place, but it looks like Seifer doesn't care. The mayor hands Vivi and me Struggle weapons again for the final match. "Keep it clean, fellas," he says before walking away.

"And now," the announcer calls, "the match you've all been waiting for: Roxas versus Vivi!"

Vivi launches at me quickly like he did against Seifer, but I'm ready for it. I parry the attack and attack him back, but Vivi blocks my attack, too. I move back and jump, bringing my weapon down for an overhead attack. Vivi jumps away, but jumps back quickly to attack me again. I barely have time to block the attack, but my foot hits a loose stone or pebble on the stage and I fall backwards.

Vivi falls with me, but I throw him over my head before I hit the ground. Vivi obviously wasn't prepared for that, because he's not moving when I get up. I know better than to fall for the same trick he got Seifer with, though. The crowd starts booing after Vivi doesn't move for a few more seconds.

I hear something behind me and turn around to look. The crowd has stopped moving, and there's no noise at all. Just like yesterday, everything is frozen except for me.

And Vivi apparently. He's standing up now. I shrug at him, but the small boy just laughs with that creepy voice again. Suddenly, Vivi starts glowing. White light surrounds him and his body transforms into one of those white creatures from before.

"Again?" I ask out loud. Two more of the creatures appear and the Keyblade appears in my hand, replacing the Struggle bat like it did a few days ago. "Again..."

I grimace and prepare for another fight. After dispatching the three creatures, no more of them appear, but I hear someone clapping behind me. I turn to look and see a hooded figure in a black cloak standing at the edge of the stage. This person is taller than the one I fought yesterday.

"Roxas," the figure speaks; clearly a male voice. "All right, fight fight fight." He stopped clapping and walks forward. He waits for some kind of reaction, but continues speaking when I don't say anything. "You really don't remember? It's me." He removes his hood to reveal a lot of spiky red-and-black hair. "You know, Axel."

"Axel?" I repeat the name.

"Talk about black with a capital 'B.' Man oh man," Axel says, "even the Dusks aren't gonna crack this one." Axel thrusts his arms out and flames appear, moving from his shoulder into his palms. The flames begin taking shape, revealing two strange weapons. They look like overly large, ornate shuriken.

"Wait, tell me what's going on!" I cry. Wait, he's wearing the same cloak isn't he? "Are you working with the same person that attacked me yesterday?"

Axel looks thoroughly confused. "Yesterday?" he replies. "No one from my group would have attacked you yesterday."

"It was a girl with jet black hair and blue eyes just like mine," I explain. He's got to be toying with me. "She was wearing that same cloak that you're wearing!"

"The cloak?" Axel mutters. "That's not possible. The only girl in our group was taken out almost eleven months ago. There's no other girls in the Organi- Whoops, shouldn't go that far just yet."

Axel looks around for a second. "This town is his creation, right?" What on earth does that mean? "Which means we don't have time for any more Q & A. You're coming with me, conscious or not. Then you'll hear the story."

For a moment, I almost consider going with him, just so I can finally understand everything that's been going on. Suddenly, both of us can feel a presence swarming around us, just like when everyone became frozen.

"Uh-oh," Axel mutters.

I sigh and look down angrily at the Keyblade in my hand. "What's going ON?" I yell, throwing the Keyblade against the ground. It bounces away past Axel, but it reappears in my hand just a few seconds later with a flash of light.

"Number Thirteen," Axel says. "Roxas. The Keyblade's chosen one."

Growling with anger, I lower myself into a fighting stance. "Okay, fine!" I yell. "You asked for it!"

"That's more like it!" Axel says before he rushes at me. His weapons can create fire apparently, but I know Sora defeated a bunch of enemies on his quest that used fire, and we both use the Keyblade, so I shouldn't have any trouble, right?

A few more attacks later and my clothes are singed. I'm lucky I'm not totally naked with all the fire Axel's been throwing around. Throwing caution to the winds, I rush at Axel when I see an opening. I knock one of his weapons away with my Keyblade and kick him in the gut. Next I land the Keyblade sharply against the back of his neck, sprawling him across the stage.

"Not bad, Roxas," Axel murmurs as he picks himself up.

Suddenly, Axel looks behind me. I turn around and see a man standing there. I can't see his face, though; it's covered in bandages. His outfit is really strange: dark red cape over his shoulders and connecting near his chest. He's wearing come kind of robe that covers his whole body, too.

"Roxas, this man speaks nonsense!" he announces with a clear, deep voice.

"Roxas, don't let him deceive you!" Axel cries.

Now I'm confused.

"Roxas!" the bandaged man yells.

"Roxas!" Axel cries again.

I just want everything to stop.

"Roxas!"

I just want to see my friends!

"Roxas!"

Hayner... Pence... Olette...

"Roxas!"

"Hayner! Pence! Olette!"

The words leave my mouth before I can think anymore. In a flash of light, both the bandage guy and Axel are gone. The crowd is moving again, cheering and clapping. Vivi is standing near me, but he falls over a second later.

"What!" the announcer yells suddenly. "What just happened?"

Who knows what the crowd saw? I'm not worried about it right now. I just want to be with my friends.

"Roxas!" Olette cries as she runs up to me. Hayner and Pence are close behind.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Roxas- our new top Struggler!" the announcer yells.

I'm smiling on the inside, now that my friends are here with me, but Hayner and the others look worried.

"Roxas?" Hayner mutters.

"Setzerrrrrrrr!" the crowd cheers. Said obnoxious man walks onto the stage in his flamboyant purple outfit. I swear, there's no way he's not gay.

"Roxas, it's starting!" Olette says. I look at my friends and nod with a small smile. They smile back and walk off the stage as the mayor approaches me.

"You two play fair now," he says. "You're at the top of the bracket."

"There's only room for one up here," Setzer says dangerously. The mayor backs away warily. "Hey Rucksack," he says, turning to me. "How about you throw the match for me?"

"Roxas! Focus!" Hayner calls from the crowd. That gets my attention and breaks the stupor I was in. I glare at Setzer, who is noticeably taller than me. "Let me win, and I'll make it worth your while."

Oh no, he's gay AND a pedophile! "Get real!" I reply.

"Whatever you think is right," Setzer continues, "you're wrong. And that is a big mistake."

I've never watched Setzer fight. Unlike the hoards of screaming fangirls in the crowd right now, I don't think this guy is the greatest thing since the Nerf-bat was invented. So his first attack comes at me a lot quicker than I expect. It seems Setzer isn't _all_ talk, but I still manage to block him and counterattack. He blocks my attack and we're stuck in a deadlock.

"So you won't throw the match then?" he whispers.

"You kidding?" I smirk up at him. "I plan on winning!" My arm moves, throwing his to the side. My leg starts moving up to kick at his stomach, but then I remember that's an illegal move in Struggle battles. We can only attack with the Struggle swords. It didn't matter when I was fighting Axel, obviously.

Regaining my composure, I jump instead of kicking. Setzer brings his sword around and stabs towards my legs while they're in the air. My legs move almost by instinct and wrap around his weapon instead. Still in the air, I make a sweeping motion with my sword and knock him back.

When I land, Setzer is still on his feet, but he's without a weapon, putting him at a major disadvantage. But he's clearly not down for the count yet. His sword is on the ground behind me, but he rushes towards me anyway. I make a swipe at him as he gets close, but he grabs my sword with his left hand. These Nerf-bats are really useless in that kind of situation.

Thinking quickly, I relinquish my grip on the weapon and reach behind me. Before Setzer can tell what I'm doing, I grab his dropped sword and land three strikes against him. My attacks are a lot faster with his weapon; it's lighter. That means his attacks should be slower since he's using a weapon that's heavier than he's used to.

Suddenly, a loud noise echoes throughout the sandlot. It's the bell for the timer. Out match is over; time ran out. Looking to the scoreboard, I see I scored a lot of points with that last maneuver. Apparently, grabbing Setzer's weapon got me a lot of style points.

Not wanting to be a bad sportsman, I walk over to shake Setzer's hand. He just smirks. "Nice fight," he says coolly before walking away.

"Roxas!"

"You did it!"

"That was awesome, Roxas!"

Hayner, Olette, and Pence run up onto the stage to congratulate me. A few seconds later, the announcer has declared me the winner (the judges had to review footage of the match to make sure nothing Setzer or I did was against the Struggle tournament rules) and presented me with the championship belt that Setzer had previously owned.

* * *

We're all sitting on the Station Tower now. I've got the trophy from the tournament with me, and there's something that needs to be done with it.

Without warning, I pluck each of the four crystals off and toss the first three to Hayner, Olette, and Pence. Olette gets the yellow crystal, Hayner gets red, and Pence gets green.

I hold my blue crystal up and it reflects the sunlight. "As promised," I explain.

Pence holds his crystal up in the sunlight, too. "Thanks a ton, Roxas!" he says.

"One more treasure for us to share," Hayner says as he holds his up. Olette follows suit, but she puts her crystal down after just a few seconds.

"I've got a present, too... for all of us," she says, bringing up four bars of sea-salt ice cream.

I stand up to grab mine, but my foot misses the ledge. Before I can even scream, I'll falling. Looking up, I can see the fear plastered on my friends' faces. My vision begins to fade out, static interference blocking out the rich Twilight Town sunset once again.

* * *

I can hear two girls talking. One of the voices sounds familiar, but just barely.

I can tell I'm still falling, but I can't see anything around me. Just blackness.

Just darkness.

"I can't think of his face or his name," of the voices says; it's the familiar one. "I feel awful about it. So I told myself: I'm not going to the island until I remember everything about him."

"Are you sure you didn't make him up?" the other girl asks.

My consciousness reaches out to the familiar voice.

"Naminé?" I call out. "Naminé...? What's happening to me?"

"Who are you?" the girl's voice answers, but I still can't see anything but darkness. "And that's not my name. I'm Kairi."

"Kairi..." My voice almost surprises me. "I know you. You're that girl he likes."

The voice gives a small gasp. "Who?" she asks. "Please, a name!"

"I'm Roxas," I supply.

"Okay, Roxas," she says, a little disappointed, "but can you tell me HIS name?"

Just as I'm about to answer, another voice interrupts. It's very familiar, like an old friend.

"You don't remember my name? Thanks a lot, Kairi! Okay I guess I can give you a hint. Starts with an 'S'!"

Finally, through the darkness, my vision fades to static interference again. I'm still falling... but what if there's no bottom?

* * *

A/N: And chapter done. I tried to make the fight scenes as interesting as possible. I hope I succeeded in that at least. Considering how boring the actual in-game fights are, I think I've done a decent job.

As I mentioned in the opening A/N, I'm starting up a YouTube commentary channel. The link will be on my author profile momentarily if it isn't already there. We're starting with Kingdom Hearts I, although there's only 1 video for that so far.

Next story I work on should be "Darkness in Zero," so keep an eye out for that. 


	6. The Fifth Day: Wonder of Wonders

Onto ze next chapterz! Not much to report other than an update for my Riku fic and at least 1 new video on the commentary channel.

Disclaimer: This boring disclaimer serves to remind all who are reading this that I don't own shit.

* * *

Strange. No dreams of Sora, but I think this is another dream about that girl, the one with black hair and blue eyes like mine. It's my perspective, as usual, and we're sitting on top of the tower at Central Station. All three of us.

Axel is with us.

We're all just sitting at the top of the tower eating ice cream.

"You wanna talk about what happened?" my voice asks, facing towards the girl. She says nothing.

"We're here for you," Axel adds, "if you want to get it off your chest. Right, Roxas?"

"Yeah," I hear myself reply. "That's what friends are for."

Friends? I was friends with Axel? And with the girl?

"I can't..." she begins sadly. "I can't use the Keyblade anymore."

My vision turns to look at Axel. He looks as surprised as I feel. That's right, though: I already knew she could use the Keyblade because I fought her two days ago.

"And without it," she continues, "I can't do my job."

What kind of job would require the Keyblade?

"What happened?" my voice asks, but my vision fades out.

* * *

I'm falling. Falling through darkness. There's no one here. I could look out and see nothing but darkness that just goes on forever. So why is it that nothingness terrifies me but looking at the endless darkness like this doesn't bother me? Maybe I'm just weird like that.

* * *

My body jumps, pulling myself up from the bed. Adrenaline rushes through my body for a few seconds until I calm down. "I'm dreaming," I convince myself. "But the station tower... I remember falling off. Was that... part of the dream?"

I can barely pay attention to anything. I'm surprised when I look down and find myself dressed; I must have really been spacing out. Before I know it, I'm at the Usual Spot, but my mind keeps wandering. I'm brought back down to earth when Olette walks over to me, though.

"Only three days left of summer vacation," Hayner complains, "so don't even mention that assignment!" Well that explains why Olette looks so upset.

"But we agreed we'd get it finished today," she counters.

My mind is still bugging me. "Yesterday," I begin, "I fell off the tower, right?"

"You wouldn't be here if you did!" Hayner replies. Well that makes sense, I suppose.

"Stop changing the subject!" Olette demands.

"Okay, you win," Hayner concedes. "We'll do the homework. Stupid independent study." Hayner pushes himself up from his usual seat. "So, anyway got any bright ideas for a topic?"

This could be a good chance. "Maybe we could study the stuff that's happening to me," I suggest. "You know, the dreams... and the creatures in white." And the girl with jet-black hair and blue eyes just like mine.

"Forget it," Hayner deadpans.

"Why?" I ask, surprised by the quick refusal.

"You know," Hayner begins, softer this time, "things have been weird with you and the town since the photos were stolen, right?" I guess that is when all this craziness began.

"Well, tomorrow," Pence explains, "We're all gonna search the town and find out what's been goin' on."

"Lots of people are helping out," Olette adds with a smile.

"All that for me?" I whisper.

I'm such an idiot sometimes. I'm so worried about these dreams and everything going on that my friends and everyone in town is concerned. What do I need worry about from dreams when my friends are right here?

"I'll go get some ice cream!" I announce and leave. I run out into Market Street and pay for four bars of sea-salt ice cream and hurry back.

Pence starts talking while we're all eating about a bunch of weird stuff going on in town, especially at Sunset Terrace, known as the "Seven Wonders of Twilight Town." That's where the town line at the train station goes; it's free for students.

"We should investigate those for our school project!" Hayner suggests. "Pence, you're a genius!"

"There might be other rumors going around, too," Pence adds. "Let's split up. I'm gonna look for the seven wonders."

"Olette and I will go find some new rumors!" Hayner says. "C'mon!"

"That leaves you and me, Roxas," Pence says when Hayner and Olette are gone. "Let's try the train first. To the station!"

I nod and we leave, heading for Central Station. It's a short walk up to the station, and Hayner and Olette are following us by the time we get there.

"Whoa. Find new rumors already?" Pence asks.

"Nothing on Market Street," Olette replies.

"You twerps aren't gonna scoop us," Hayner declares. "We're going to the terrace with you."

Olette smacks him on the head. "Hayner, it's not a race," she scolds.

"Well it is now!"

"C'mon," I say, "we can all go."

We all board the train and sit down. It's real quiet; no one else is riding with us. Olette decides to pull out her yellow crystal, one of the crystals I gave everyone yesterday. Hayner and Pence hold theirs up, too. I reach into my pocket to...

No!

Where could it be? I know I grabbed it with my wallet today! It was our special treasure that we share together; what could have happened to it?

The others don't seem to notice my dilemma, but that suits me just fine. I'd rather they not know that I lost my crystal the day after we promised that it would be our treasure. They'd kill me.

The train stops with a small lurch forward, bringing me back into reality.

"Olette, hurry!" Hayner calls. He and Olette run out onto the station platform and out into the main area of Sunset Terrace while Pence and I stop at the steps.

"Aren't these the steps you were talking about?" I ask. "The ones that count different going up and down?"

Pence looks uncomfortable. "Well, actually..." he mumbles. "It's the stupidest thing ever, but... Rai's the one who counted. He was like 'Every time I count, it's different, Y'KNOW?' Ha ha ha!" Pence really didn't need to put the extra emphasis on Rai's catch phrase, but I get the point.

"So he just counted wrong?" I ask, slightly disappointed.

"Hey, no worries," he tries to console me.

Pence points me to where the second "wonder" is supposed to be: an alleyway with mysterious rubber balls coming from it. It turns out that there was a kid in the alleyway throwing the balls around while he played, so that's definitely on the "fake wonder" list.

The next one, according to Pence, is in the tunnel that connects Sunset Terrace with the main part of Twilight Town. Supposedly, people can hear a lot of strange noises coming from the tunnel, but when I check it just turns out to be Vivi practicing with a Struggle sword.

The next wonder is at the waterfall mirror near the entrance to Sunset Hill. There's supposed to be a ghost that people see when they look at the waterfall, but it just turns out to be a reflection in the mirror behind the water. It was kinda spooky, though.

The next one is at the top of Sunset Hill: a bag that moves on its own. When I get up to the hill, it attacks me. After a while I manage to loosen the string holding the back closed and a dog jumps out. So that explains why it was moving.

I dust myself off and I head back down into the main Terrace to talk with Pence. This "wonder" business has gotten me roughed up a bit, and I'm starting to think it was a bad idea to choose this for out project.

"I hope the next wonder is better than the last one, because that one wasn't all that wonderful," I tell Pence once I find him.

"We got another lead!" Hayner calls as he and Olette run up to us.

"'The Ghost Train Mystery!'" Olette announces.

"Everybody knows about Wonder Number Six!" Pence says.

"Yeah, well I didn't," Hayner replies.

"Did you find out where the train runs?" I ask.

"You can see it from Sunset Hill," Olette answers.

Oh yay, we get to walk all the way back up the hill. I was just there three minutes ago; couldn't you all have just come up to me? Okay, forget it. I shouldn't be upset about it.

When we all get up to the hill, we look over the fencing at the tracks below. Nothing there, but Pence starts talking.

"If the rumors are true, it'll be here any minute," he says, "for they say the train is empty. No driver, no conductor, no passengers, NO RETURN."

Could we get a more cliché ghost story please?

So we've been waiting for who-knows-how-long and the stupid train isn't here yet. We all decided to sit down near the fence so we could watch the tracks in case it shows up.

"We've gotta make it to the beach next year," Olette suggests.

"Yeah," Hayner replies. "We better get jobs the second vacation starts."

I start to say something, but Seifer shows up.

"Good afternoon, slackers," he drawls. I turn to look at him. "What are you doing out here?"

"What do you care?" Hayner asked calmly.

"I don't," Seifer replies. "Tell me anyway."

"We're waiting for the ghost train," Pence explains.

Seifer laughs. "Waiting for the ghost train!" he repeats. He keeps laughing, but I've had enough. I get up and move right in front of him. We stare each other down for a moment before Seifer says, "Why does lookin' at you always tick me off?"

I smirk. "I dunno. Maybe it's destiny."

"Destiny..." Seifer echoes. "In that case, let's be friends." He turns to look at the sun, setting on the horizon far in the distance. "I don't feel like cooperating with destiny."

"When have you ever cooperated with anything?" Hayner jokes.

Seifer laughs, pats his fist against his chest in what I can only describe as an incredibly embarrassing gang-related farewell, and starts heading down the hill.

Olette calls after him, "Seifer!"

"I know," he replies. I look down at the train tracks. "Tomorrow."

"Look!" I yell.

A train is coming into the station. It's blue, purple, and gold, covered with stars and has a wizard's hat on top. The train goes through the tunnel below us and I turn around to the gang.

"It's really true..." I whisper. "And there's really no one aboard!" The others look uncomfortable. "What's the catch? There's gotta be a catch, right?"

Hayner, Pence, and Olette share a glance that tells me something is off. "Then it's real?" I continue. "Let's go to the station!"

We all run to the station. The blue-purple-gold train is there when we arrive as if waiting for passengers to board. "Let's go in," I declare. When I begin to walk forward, Hayner grabs my arm to stop me and I look back at him. "What?" I demand.

"Um," he stammers. "You'll get hurt."

I look back at the tracks and find the train gone. As if it had never been there. "Huh?"

"The train will be arriving shortly." An announcement comes over the intercom. A normal train car pulls into the station. I don't even pay attention to the people exiting the train.

"C'mon," Hayner demands.

"A train came from the beach, right?" I ask.

"Let's go..." Pence suggests.

I shake my head and turn to Olette. "Right?" I plead. With the saddest expression I've ever seen Olette use, she shakes her head. Hayner groans and starts pushing against my back, leading me into the normal train car.

"Let's go home and work on the paper," Hayner suggests as we exit Central Station.

"'The rumors were bogus. The end,'" Pence jokes.

"We can still make it sound good if we write about the work we did," Olette explains.

"But what about the last one?" I ask. "The seventh wonder?"

"Who cares?" Hayner replies angrily.

"I do," I reply. "C'mon Pence."

"Whatever!" Hayner huffs and leaves.

"Roxas," Olette mutters sadly.

"It's at the haunted mansion," Pence says with a heavy sigh. He and Olette leave to follow Hayner.

I want to check out that mansion. It's way too mysterious, and those white creatures seem drawn towards it for whatever reason.

A scene plays eerily in my head as I walk through Market Street. I can see myself, Axel, and the girl with blue eyes and black hair; we're all in front of the mansion, and we're fighting some large creature. I think it's one of the Heartless, like I've seen Sora fighting against in my dreams.

So that girl... No, we're all connected to that mansion somehow; the girl, Axel, and me too.

Before I even realize it I'm standing at the front gate of the empty building. The gate is locked, though, so there's no way in. I see a glimpse of Sora holding his Keyblade up before a voice makes me jump.

"You know something," Pence says loudly as he approaches, "We were gonna check the mansion out tomorrow. It is the most suspicious place."

"Right," I mumble.

Pence says something else, but my attention is drawn to the window on the far left. I can see the curtain moving from a small breeze but I can also see a girl.

A girl with blond hair and a white dress.

Naminé!

I turn to ask Pence something, but my consciousness leaves my body. I can see a white room; it's the room that I saw Naminé standing in. There's a long white table in the middle of the room and drawings hung all over the walls and a few in the floor.

This is weird. It's like... I'm deciding what my body is doing, but somehow I know that my body would move even if I hadn't told it to. I move over to look at one of the pictures on the wall. It shows a young girl holding a star-shaped fruit. I know this girl; it's Kairi. The one from the dreams, but how is that possible?

"Roxas..." I hear a voice. Naminé's voice.

"Naminé?" I call back. No answer.

I move on to the next drawing. I can recognize myself easily, but the man standing next to me makes me wonder. "This is Axel," I mutter. "And me."

"You are best friends," Naminé explains.

"Are you sure?" I ask, only slightly doubtful.

"Do you want to hear the truth about who you really are?" she asks.

I smile. "No one knows me better than me," I reply.

"Of course," Naminé says.

"But..." I begin. "I don't really understand what's been going on lately." I keep walking, looking up at a drawing of three figures: a duck, a dog, and a young boy.

"You know these three, don't you?"

"Yeah," I reply. "Sora, Donald, and Goofy. I've seen them in my dreams."

"About a year ago," Naminé began, "some things happened, and I had to take apart the memories chained together in Sora's heart. But now I'm putting them all back exactly the way they were. It's taken me a long time, but pretty soon Sora will be his old self again." There is a pause. "The process has been affecting you, too, Roxas."

"The dreams?" I guess.

"Yes," she answers. "You and Sora are connected. And... in order for Sora to become completely whole again... he needs you." I see a drawing of myself, holding Sora's hand.

"Why does he need me?" I ask calmly.

"You hold half of what he is," Naminé answers.

"Naminé?" I call. A bright light fills my vision and I find myself seated at the long table across from Naminé. "Naminé... who are you?"

Naminé explains that she is a witch who can control Sora's memory... and the memory of those connected to him. I ask her what she knows about me that I don't and her answer shocks me.

"You..." she begins, "you were never supposed to exist, Roxas."

I shake my head and stare at the table. "How could you say that?" I ask. "It doesn't matter if that's true or not."

"I'm sorry," she says honestly. "I guess some things really are better left unsaid."

I look back up and our eyes meet. Blue, just like the black-haired girl.

"Do you know who the black-haired girl is?" I ask.

Naminé seems greatly surprised. "How-" She shakes her head. "She is also connected to Sora." Her eyes soften considerably. "And to you."

My vision fades to white again and I find myself standing next to Pence outside the gate.

"Roxas!" he calls multiple times.

"Huh?" I jump, finally breaking my attention from the mansion's window.

"Did you see her?" he asks. "The girl in the window?"

"Yeah," I reply and decide not to go into the full conversation I just had with the girl. "Watch the window," I explain, "closely."

I point up at the corner of the window where Naminé had been standing before, but she's gone now. The curtain continues to wave in the breeze.

"Oh, lame," Pence groans. "That's just the curtains moving. There must be a draft somewhere."

When I look back at the window, Naminé is standing there again. Even at this distance, I can tell she is looking directly at me with sorrowful eyes. "...Yeah."

"Well, let's head back to the usual spot," Pence suggests. "Hayner and Olette are waiting."

I nod and we leave. I glance back at the window, but no one is there. When I look at the far right window, though, I can see a girl with jet-black hair and blues eyes just like mine.

* * *

"Hey guys, how'd it go?" Olette asks as we make it back to the usual spot.

"The girl in the window turned out to be a curtain flapping in the wind," Pence explains with a defeated sigh.

"I figured as much," Olette says. "The report's already done."

"All right!" Pence explaims.

I stay quiet. I know what I saw at the mansion, but I'm pretty sure no one else would believe it. Just like the pickpocket or the train.

"So, wanna go find Hayner?" Olette asks. "He's probably at the station."

I look up at her.

"You know... we only have two more days together."

"Huh?" I reply, confused.

"Summer vacation, remember?" she laughs.

"Oh... right."

Sure enough, when we reach the top of the station tower, Hayner is already there eating ice cream. We all sit down and start eating ice cream bars of our own.

"Tomorrow we search the town," Hayner says.

"Next day's the fair," Pence continues.

"The last day of summer," Olette adds.

"Don't say that!" Hayner complains. "You'll give me an ulcer!"

"Not if you explode from all that ice cream first," Pence jokes. Hayner jumps away from the ice cream he was about to bite and everyone else starts laughing. I can hear bells ringing in the distance.

My vision fades into static interference.

* * *

A/N: End of zeh chapter! I apologize greatly for the boring chapter. I tried to not copy as much as possible, but that's difficult for this kind of thing. Next chapter will be the last one, and may be fairly long considering there will be at least 1 fight scene and quite a lot of story exposition and explaining to do.


End file.
